The teachers' unions won one this week when the state decided to drop a proposal to end annual bonuses to teachers who'd earned national board certificates. The state has been paying teachers extra money, sometimes thousands more a year, if those teachers could produce a certificate from a national board saying they are good teachers. But the question is not whether the certificates prove they are good teachers, but whether the paperwork makes them better--and does it improve education?
Research shows it doesn't. Once upon a time, a former Arkansas education commissioner, Tom Kimbrell, asked the University of Arkansas to study whether these national board certifications improved teacher effectiveness. The research here in Arkansas showed that most teachers who went for the national board certification were already above average teachers, and most of them were teaching in the wealthier school districts in the state. And while these teachers were already good, the national board certification did not make them better teachers and not more effective in improving student achievement.
But despite the escalating costs, those automatic bonuses aren't going anywhere for now. The teachers' unions won this time around.
But a funny thing happened as we got into the weeds of the story. Somebody brought up research. Namely and ironically, the president of the Arkansas Education Association:
"This is a great step forward with the collaboration of the governor and the [Education] commissioner deciding to put the brakes on this rule," said Brenda Robinson, AEA's leader. "We know national board is truly, by research, a great investment in student achievement."
By research? She didn't cite any. But what about the research that shows merit pay helping improve student test scores in the classroom? A study from professors at Harvard, the University of Chicago and UC-San Diego released in 2012 said as much. Another study showed student performance in countries with merit pay systems can be 25 percent higher than students in countries without them. Yes, research is a wonderful thing. Even research that shows National Certification isn't much of a help in the classroom.
Here's an idea: how about giving bonuses only to those teachers who receive this National Certification and agree to work in schools in high-poverty neighborhoods? Just like Teach for America teachers, who don't go to the wealthiest districts but the ones with the highest poverty and greatest need.
Those who want real reform in Arkansas' public schools should focus more on stretching our education dollars where they will do the most good. Spending more and more bonus dollars on teachers in high-income districts is not the way to do it. Limiting national board certification bonuses to teachers in the lower income districts would be a step in the right direction.
Editorial on 02/10/2016